Union withholds strike pay from line crossers

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) has joined the Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) Local 202 in taking the issue of union fines to Canada’s top court.

PSAC recently applied for leave to have the Supreme Court of Canada hear an appeal of the Ontario Court of Appeal’s ruling in Birch and Luberti (which refused to enforce union fines against members who crossed a picket line).

TWU has asked to join its appeal with PSAC’s, if it is granted leave to appeal, so the two cases dealing with union fines can be heard as one. Unless the Supreme Court reverses the lower court decisions in both cases, the courts will remain off-limits as venues for unions to enforce fines imposed on members.